In continuing my love of all things related to Asia, I decided to try my hand at making some Indonesian food, which is something I've never tried. I quite enjoy a good fried rice, but the conventional version from the local Chinese takeaway is loaded with unwanted and unneeded nasty things. So, again not shying away from a challenge, I decided to try my hand at nasi goreng, or, in Indonesian, 'fried rice'. My mum, who is probably my biggest critic and skeptic, gave this one a double thumbs up and requested I give her the recipe because she liked it that much, so this one is for you mum!
Instead of boring and nutritionally-not-great white rice, the basis of this dish is brown rice. I actually prefer brown rice to white rice because I like the more wholesome, nutty texture and flavour of the former. Nutritionally, brown rice is so much better for you. White rice has the husk, bran and germ completely removed and the inner endosperm is polished, all in the interests of 'looking better'. Removing these layers (excluding the husk, which is also removed in brown rice) causes loss of many vitamins and dietary minerals including vitamins B1 and B3, iron, magnesium and natural bran oils which have been proven to lower cholesterol. There is also a massive reduction in the amounts of dietary fiber and healthy fatty acids when rice is made white. I'm actually completely baffled as to why people so often choose white rice over brown rice when the later tastes better, is soooo much better for you and is equally as available!
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| The colours alone in the plate make me happy, let alone the taste. |
1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp chilli paste (or 1 long red chilli, seeds removed)
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 brown onion
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 small yellow capsicum (pepper)
1 small green capsicum (pepper)
1 small red capsicum (pepper)
1 carrot
1 cob uncooked sweet corn
1 tsp tamarind paste
5 spring onions
1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro)/Thai Basil
1. Cook the brown rice according to pack instructions. Then drain and place to one side.
2. Take the 3 capsicums (peppers) and slice into long, thin strips. Take the carrot and use a slicer to make long, thin julienne strips (If you don't have a julienne slicer, make thin matchsticks). Slice the kernels off the corn cob using a sharp knife.
3. Chop the brown onion in half. Using one half of the onion only, dice it up into small pieces. Place the diced half into a blender/food processor along with the garlic, chilli, ginger and half the sesame oil. Blend this until well combined into a paste.
4. In a fry pan, cook the thinly sliced capsicum, remainder of the brown onion and the carrot with the rest of the sesame oil. Cook for about 5 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like your veggies).
5. Slice the shallots up and then add them to the fry pan with the corn. Add in the cooked brown rice and mix well.
6. Add the tamarind paste to the fry pan along with the soy sauce and garlic/ginger/chilli/onion mixture from the blender, and mix well.
7. Take nasi goreng off the heat and plate up. Grab the coriander/thai basil and generously sprinkle over the top. Serve straight away and enjoy!!!
Optional add ins, dependent upon preference and diet, include fried egg, chicken, prawns, beef - basically whatever takes your fancy, however the base recipe is gluten free and vegan.
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